THE coupe is the forte of Mercedes- Benz. The German firm has been making very, very good versions for a long, long time.

Its mid-sized two-door E-Class coupe continues to stand out from the crowd and now has a slightly different look.

The front-end styling is notably different than before. The bi-xenon headlights, traditionally always twin lamps on the E-Class, have been combined into one unit with a curvaceous daytime running light arrangement dividing the two headlight cores.

Combine the new lights with bold alloys, a sleek roof line and an aggressive ‘blade’ at the base of the front bumper, and the E-Class is immediately a more youthful, striking car than it was before. There are large air intakes and, at the rear, new tail lamps and wide-effect rear bumper with ‘wing design’ and chrome-look trim.

That’s key to the changes because Mercedes is looking for younger customers. What’s more, there’s an AMG version that makes it one of the most distinctive Mercs.

Entry-level SE cars sit on 17-inch alloy wheels that look fine in isolation, but very ordinary when sitting next to an AMG Sport model with its striking 18-inch wheels with a six-twin-spoke design. For the UK market, the only SE car is the basic diesel with all the others built as AMG Sport only.

There’s more equipment, too, although you do pay a premium.

Both trim levels include Comand Online, DAB digital radio, speedsensitive power steering, parkingassistance programs and systems to warn of tiredness and to prompt emergency braking.

The engine offering includes two four-cylinder diesels, a V6 diesel, and two petrols. The petrols actually represent the real departures, the lesser being a new 181bhp 2.0-litre four-pot with stratified direct injection, and the greater a new force-fed V6 replacing the old V8.

My test car, however, was a 2.1- litre 170bhp E220 CDI turbodiesel – likely to account for a bigger share of UK sales mix than either petrol.

There’s nothing particularly outstanding about Mercedes’s fourpot diesel until you check out the fuel economy of nearly 60mpg for a car of considerable dimensions. It’s quiet and smooth, which is what you want in a stylish car designed to waft you along with pace and elegance. Acceleration is rapid but in no way exceptional, and with the default setting in eco mode you soon realise that this car tends towards a relaxed manner.

The 7G-Tronic automatic transmission looks after your journey with barely a murmur and you are left to enjoy the plushness and quality of the materials in the cabin.

You also get agility-control sports suspension with an adaptive damping system that lets you choose harder or softer suspension settings.

The AMG Sport grade brings some lovely touches such as twin trapezoidal exhaust pipes, upgraded front brakes featuring branded calipers and perforated discs, new AMG bodystyling, leather upholstery with multi-contour heated front seats, an AMG steering wheel in nappa leather with flattened bottom section and AMG floor mats. You certainly feel you’re behind the wheel of something a bit special.

There is also the option of upgrading to the AMG Sport Plus package, priced at £1,795, consisting of 19-inch AMG bi-colour alloy wheels, an AMG boot spoiler in body colour, red seat belts, AMG Sports seats in Artico/Dinamica with red stitching, AMG steering wheel with red stitching, AMG floor mats with red edging and red stitching on the door panels, centre console and armrest.

Bigger brakes than before pull the car up with extreme ease, and the bonus is that there’s an exceptional level of feel at the pedal. It’s really easy to judge just how much force you’re applying through the tyres and how much grip there is on the road. The steering is light and accurate, helping to make this coupe unusually nimble.

At motorway cruising speeds, the diesel engine is impressively quiet and you learn to relax with the car.

The motorway network is the perfect match for E-Class, providing opportunities for higher-speed cruising and also plenty of creature comforts when the roads snarl up.

Backing up the added style, the Coupe is up to 21 per cent more efficient and at the time of its launch earlier this year featured the most advanced technology ever created for the Mercedes-Benz range of vehicles.

Yes, it’s not just impressive to look at. Far from it.


MERCEDES-BENZ E 220 CDI AMG SPORT COUPE

PRICE: from £36,680

ENGINE: 2.143-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol producing 170bhp

TRANSMISSION: sevenspeed automatic

PERFORMANCE: top speed 145mph, 0-62mph in 8.3 seconds

ECONOMY: 58.9mpg combined CO2 RATING: 129g/km